Blanch tomatoes, deskin and deseed. Prepare all vegetables and cut them roughly, puree all ingredients in a blender. Season. Chill with ice cubes. Pour into soup cups and garnish with fine dices of capsicum, onions and cucumber.

Serve chilled over a bed of ice.

Tips:

If the soup is too thick, add tomato juice.

The soup should be reddish brown in colour with a refreshing taste and flavor.

POLLO EN PEPITORIA

Prep time: 60minutes

Chicken 1kg

Salt to taste

Olive oil 60ml

Onions 50gms

White wine 125ml

Chicken stock 400ml

Bay leaf 1no

Thyme 2gms

Garlic 2 cloves

Almonds 30gms

Saffron 1/4gm

Ground cinnamon a pinch

Hardboiled egg yolks 2 nos

Method:

Disjoint chicken into 8pcs. Apply salt, heat olive oil in a heavy bottom sauté pan and brown the chicken on all sides. Remove. Blanch, deskin the almonds and grind in a food processor combine almonds with saffron and yolks. Add 50ml of stock and make a paste. Sauté chopped onions until soft, add chopped garlic and stir for a minute. Add chicken pieces, white wine, stock, bay leaf and thyme. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Stir in the almond mixture and cook for about 10 minutes over low heat.

Tips:

Soak saffron in a tbspn of warm milk.

PAELLA

Prep time 60minutes

Rice 200gms

Olive oil 50ml

Onions 30gms

Garlic 6flakes

Saffron 1/2gm

Carrots 30gms

Peas 30gms

Red capsicum 30gms

Yellow capsicum 30gms

Tomatoes 30gms

Sausage 1no

Chicken joints 100gms

Prawns 100gms

Clams 6nos

Mussels 4nos

Salt to taste

Stock 400ml

Green capsicum 30gms

Milk 15ml

Method:

Cut the vegetables into dices. Peel and roughly chop garlic. Cut sausage diagonally. Season chicken joints, shell and devein the prawns. Wash and scrub slams and mussels. Pick, wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Drain and dry. Heat oil, sauté garlic and onions, chicken, rice, stir lightly. Add seasoning and stock. When it comes to boil add in the sea food and vegetables. Add saffron cover and simmer over low flame or in the oven until done.

Tips:

Use round, sticky rice for paella.

Fish can also be added.

It can be either served as a side dish or as a complete dish.

Soak saffron in warm milk.

FRITATA DE PATATA

Prep time 20minutes

Small potatoes 100gms

Onions 50gms

Eggs 4nos

Salt to taste

Oil 20ml

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Wash, peel and slice the potatoes 2-3 mm thick. Peel and dice onions. Heat oil and deep fry potatoes until cooked. Deep fry onions till golden brown. Drain potatoes and onions, arrange on a greased omelets pan. Beat egg to a foamy consistency. Season and pour over the potatoes transfer to a pre heated oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tips:

It is a variation of standard Spanish omelets and can be served as a main meal dish with vegetable accompaniments.